Michael Bolton at 60: Through the Decades

Sixty years ago today, Michael Bolton was born in New Haven, Connecticut, into a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. He'd eventually change his name to Michael Bolton and go on to become one of the most successful musicians of the late '80s and early '90s by either reviving the sounds of classic soul and R&B and buffing them to a modern shine, or, in the view of his many critics, by exploiting and defiling the legacies of great black artists like Otis Redding and Percy Sledge.

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But like many of pop's great schmaltzmeisters, he's a more interesting individual than surface appearances would suggest. Bolton's written a massive amount of songs for other artists, from Kenny Rogers to Kiss, and like fellow adult contemporary balladeer Billy Joel, his early career includes a little-known detour into hard rock. And as his 2011 collaboration with the Lonely Island proves, he's a chill enough guy to laugh at his own reputation.

In recognition of these qualities, and for his astounding artistic endurance, we're saluting Michael Bolton with these highlights from his six decades on earth.

'50s Michael Bolton

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According to Bolton, he joined his first band at age seven. While the group didn't leave behind any recordings, he says that he was influenced from a young age by Ray Charles, and if that fact inspires you to imagine a child-sized Michael Bolton trying to replicate "Mess Around," that's probably normal.

'60s Michael Bolton

Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" is one of the most soulful moments of the '60s. Two-plus decades later, Bolton would record a version that, whether we like it or not, is, for many of us, the first rendition that comes to mind when we read the title.

'70s Michael Bolton

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Bolton got his first big break in the music industry as the frontman for a hard rock band called Blackjack. At one point, they toured with Ozzy Osbourne, and while they weren't quite the transgressive Satanic metal maniac that Ozzy was, "Love Me Tonight" has a respectably Thin Lizzy-ish 'tude.

'80s Bolton

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Bolton would have to wait until 1983 for his first real pop hit, when Laura Branigan's version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (which he co-wrote with Doug James) reached number 12 on the Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart. His own recording of it went all the way to number one in 1990. But the song actually debuted in 1981, with a rendition by Lisa Hartman that appeared on the TV show Knots Landing.

'90s Bolton

By the time the '90s rolled around, Bolton had established himself as a pop icon, and his flowing locks and uber-smooth stylings made him an easy target for critics of the period's most overproduced excesses. Those people probably weren't happy when he teamed up with Kenny G, who, like Bolton, had a funky early career that most people don't know about.

'00s Bolton

When you've sold as ungodly an amount of records as Michael Bolton, even your periods of being out of fashion still involve appearances at major televised events backed by a huge jazz orchestra.